Shaun Marsh's unfortunate history of forfeiting rich veins of form due to injury gained a new chapter as his century to deliver victory for Australia A in their opening match against the England Lions was marred by what appeared a serious bout of knee trouble at Bellerive Oval.

Turning for the run that would have taken him to three figures, Marsh fell in a heap and was barely mobile enough to score the one run he needed for the century. On several occasions in the past Marsh has been afflicted by hamstring problems when playing well, and in 2011 his confident first steps as a Test batsman were derailed by a back complaint.

Scans later revealed that this was yet another hamstring injury, one serious enough to put him out of the remainder of the series; he had ruptured a hamstring tendon behind his right knee, and would need to consult with an orthopaedic surgeon to determine the course of treatment.*

This was a major sour point on what was otherwise a strong evening for Australia A, who ensured the England Lions remained winless so far on this tour. Aaron Finch added 171 with Marsh, while John Hastings, Ben Cutting and Kane Richardson had their moments with the ball.

Varun Chopra and Ben Foakes contributed innings of substance for the visitors, but until the brief tremor caused by Marsh's knee complaint their bowlers never looked likely to disrupt the hosts' chase.

Marsh and Finch had played haltingly in their recent international forays but had few problems getting established in the lower key environment of Australia A. Finch crashed the last ball of the first over to the cover fence, and in the second coshed a free-hit well over the midwicket fence when Chris Wright overstepped.

For a time it seemed Marsh and Finch's greatest dangers were to be posed by each other, Finch doubled over when one stinging drive from Marsh struck the non-striker. They were not to be separated until the tally reached 171, Finch pouched at long off trying for another six.

Alex Doolan, included when Callum Ferguson failed to recover from a groin strain, provided Marsh with sound support. A most comfortable win beckoned until Marsh clutched his right leg in obvious pain after turning for a second run when on 99. He gathered himself sufficiently to score the remaining run he needed for a century, but then hobbled off.

The episode seemed to unsettle the hosts, who soon lost Doolan and Ben Rohrer in quick succession, leaving Joe Burns and Tim Paine to settle and seal the chase with five balls to spare.

The Lions had enjoyed considerable good fortune in the first over of the match when Paine grassed a straightforward chance behind the stumps offered by Chopra from Richardson. Chopra took advantage of the dropped catch by assembling a sturdy innings, showing particular strength through cover and point.

The tally reached 53 before the first wicket, James Vince playing around a slower ball from Hastings. The captain James Taylor accompanied Chopra for a stand of 74 before picking out deep midwicket when he tried to lift the scoring rate.

Foakes met with greater success, scoring busily to ease the scoring load on Chopra, who reached his century before picking out long on. Hastings and Cutting nipped out three more wickets in the closing exchanges, and only one boundary was struck in the final five overs of the innings as Australia A kept their target well within reach.

*05.45GMT, February 17, 2013: This report was updated after the results of Shaun Marsh's scans came out

@ Jayzuz on (February 17, 2013, 9:14 GMT) - judging by their Generation Next's results on tour so far (0/5), they won't be level with us for too much longer.

POSTED BY
Meety
on | February 18, 2013, 1:17 GMT

@ Milhouse79 on (February 17, 2013, 5:34 GMT) - Oz only lost matches that McGrath was unable to play, otherwise the "Nil" part of his prediction was spot on.
@hris on (February 17, 2013, 7:30 GMT) - it is unfortunate that Marsh keeps getting injured - often when starting to establish himself, but I think the injuries are only a small part of his mediocre FC record. Could go on but I really don't want to bag him on a thread where he hit a ton!

POSTED BY
RandyOZ
on | February 17, 2013, 20:30 GMT

Another crushing defeat for England. All of the tour parties and U19 teams are consistently getting slaughtered.

POSTED BY
Jayzuz
on | February 17, 2013, 9:14 GMT

Hate to break this to ya, @Millhouse79, but England are equal with AUS in ODIs (116 pts), and ENG are but one point ahead in tests (118-117). AUS also outperformed ENG at the T20 WC by a considerable distance. You can have the T20 rankings, for what they are worth. In fact of the 18 internationals between AUS and ENG since the 1st test in Brisbane, ENG have won 9, AUS 8. ENG got flogged by SA 2-0, AUS were very unlucky to lose 1-0 after their early series domination of the proteas. I think its just time to admit that the two teams are evenly matched, and that Vaughn and co are delusional. All this pre-series celebration looks awfully like hubris, given the realities of the last 2 years. I rest my case.

POSTED BY
zenboomerang
on | February 17, 2013, 8:26 GMT

My Aust A ODI team would include Hartley ave@63 this season (Paine ave@21)... Paine has played very little cricket for the last 2 years & unsure why he gets preferential treatment when his return from injury hasn't been anywhere near as good as Hartleys form... You could throw Haddin & Nevill into the mix as well...

@Chris_P Take the example of Mike Hussey. Now hes a better player than Shaun Marsh. But he was averaging around 40 in shield cricket when he has played about 150 innings( first 7-8 years of his career). His average goes up to high 40s only because he plundered the poor English bowlers in those days. He average around 70 in county in the same period when he was averaging around 40 in shield.

Then when was in his late 20s he started scoring big runs consistently and now averages over 50.

Now i dont know the kind of injuries Hussey suffered in his early career. But i would doubt they were as frequent as Marsh.

Having said all that. I dont consider Marsh as good as Hussey. But surely he would be average atleast around 45.

POSTED BY
hris
on | February 17, 2013, 7:30 GMT

@Chris_P
i never said its the sole reason. And i never said he would average over 50. But his stats surely would be much better. Maybe average close to 45.

And most players dont start of averaging 50 and keep it throughout their carrier.
They tend to have a golden period after about 25 to 32 where they score heavily and bump up their averages. So if you suffer too many injuries in that period which Marsh clearly has, then your stats are gonna be lower. Just check his form and then subsequent injury history since he has been a Aus potential.

POSTED BY
Chris_P
on | February 17, 2013, 7:09 GMT

@hris. Mate, he has been playing fc cricket for 12 seasons. Surely you don't suggest injuries is the sole reason for his ordinary stats? Twelve seasons!

POSTED BY
Jaffa79
on | February 17, 2013, 5:34 GMT

pat_one_back...'England only won because of McGrath's injury'. What a predictable comment. I actually thought England played better cricket than you guys but hey! All teams get injuries mate...why be such a bad loser? Maybe Michael Vaughan, myself and many English fans are confident or perhaps over confident but are Aussies ever short of that? Whatever happens in Ind or against SL or SA is irrelevent. What really counts is the recent record between Eng + Aus (2 Ashes + ODI series), the home advantage (Aus have not won a series in Eng since '01), the fact we top you inl 3 formats and the fact you have poor batting (the most partisan Aussie must surely identify this weakness). If Aus play well and take the series then fair play. I for one won't make excuses. I suspect most of the Aussies on these pages will have them already prepared.The only way I see Aus making a mark on the series is if Anderson gets injured. A bit like 2005! Ha ha. You wouldn't accept that excuse though would you?

POSTED BY
jonesy2
on | February 17, 2013, 4:48 GMT

no surprises, this australia a side is made up of world class international stars and would beat any other international ODI side. england have no talent or depth but we already knew that although it is nice to know that the ashes will be back in australian hands for the next probably 15-20 years.

POSTED BY
Meety
on | February 18, 2013, 6:43 GMT

@ Jayzuz on (February 17, 2013, 9:14 GMT) - judging by their Generation Next's results on tour so far (0/5), they won't be level with us for too much longer.

POSTED BY
Meety
on | February 18, 2013, 1:17 GMT

@ Milhouse79 on (February 17, 2013, 5:34 GMT) - Oz only lost matches that McGrath was unable to play, otherwise the "Nil" part of his prediction was spot on.
@hris on (February 17, 2013, 7:30 GMT) - it is unfortunate that Marsh keeps getting injured - often when starting to establish himself, but I think the injuries are only a small part of his mediocre FC record. Could go on but I really don't want to bag him on a thread where he hit a ton!

POSTED BY
RandyOZ
on | February 17, 2013, 20:30 GMT

Another crushing defeat for England. All of the tour parties and U19 teams are consistently getting slaughtered.

POSTED BY
Jayzuz
on | February 17, 2013, 9:14 GMT

Hate to break this to ya, @Millhouse79, but England are equal with AUS in ODIs (116 pts), and ENG are but one point ahead in tests (118-117). AUS also outperformed ENG at the T20 WC by a considerable distance. You can have the T20 rankings, for what they are worth. In fact of the 18 internationals between AUS and ENG since the 1st test in Brisbane, ENG have won 9, AUS 8. ENG got flogged by SA 2-0, AUS were very unlucky to lose 1-0 after their early series domination of the proteas. I think its just time to admit that the two teams are evenly matched, and that Vaughn and co are delusional. All this pre-series celebration looks awfully like hubris, given the realities of the last 2 years. I rest my case.

POSTED BY
zenboomerang
on | February 17, 2013, 8:26 GMT

My Aust A ODI team would include Hartley ave@63 this season (Paine ave@21)... Paine has played very little cricket for the last 2 years & unsure why he gets preferential treatment when his return from injury hasn't been anywhere near as good as Hartleys form... You could throw Haddin & Nevill into the mix as well...

@Chris_P Take the example of Mike Hussey. Now hes a better player than Shaun Marsh. But he was averaging around 40 in shield cricket when he has played about 150 innings( first 7-8 years of his career). His average goes up to high 40s only because he plundered the poor English bowlers in those days. He average around 70 in county in the same period when he was averaging around 40 in shield.

Then when was in his late 20s he started scoring big runs consistently and now averages over 50.

Now i dont know the kind of injuries Hussey suffered in his early career. But i would doubt they were as frequent as Marsh.

Having said all that. I dont consider Marsh as good as Hussey. But surely he would be average atleast around 45.

POSTED BY
hris
on | February 17, 2013, 7:30 GMT

@Chris_P
i never said its the sole reason. And i never said he would average over 50. But his stats surely would be much better. Maybe average close to 45.

And most players dont start of averaging 50 and keep it throughout their carrier.
They tend to have a golden period after about 25 to 32 where they score heavily and bump up their averages. So if you suffer too many injuries in that period which Marsh clearly has, then your stats are gonna be lower. Just check his form and then subsequent injury history since he has been a Aus potential.

POSTED BY
Chris_P
on | February 17, 2013, 7:09 GMT

@hris. Mate, he has been playing fc cricket for 12 seasons. Surely you don't suggest injuries is the sole reason for his ordinary stats? Twelve seasons!

POSTED BY
Jaffa79
on | February 17, 2013, 5:34 GMT

pat_one_back...'England only won because of McGrath's injury'. What a predictable comment. I actually thought England played better cricket than you guys but hey! All teams get injuries mate...why be such a bad loser? Maybe Michael Vaughan, myself and many English fans are confident or perhaps over confident but are Aussies ever short of that? Whatever happens in Ind or against SL or SA is irrelevent. What really counts is the recent record between Eng + Aus (2 Ashes + ODI series), the home advantage (Aus have not won a series in Eng since '01), the fact we top you inl 3 formats and the fact you have poor batting (the most partisan Aussie must surely identify this weakness). If Aus play well and take the series then fair play. I for one won't make excuses. I suspect most of the Aussies on these pages will have them already prepared.The only way I see Aus making a mark on the series is if Anderson gets injured. A bit like 2005! Ha ha. You wouldn't accept that excuse though would you?

POSTED BY
jonesy2
on | February 17, 2013, 4:48 GMT

no surprises, this australia a side is made up of world class international stars and would beat any other international ODI side. england have no talent or depth but we already knew that although it is nice to know that the ashes will be back in australian hands for the next probably 15-20 years.

POSTED BY
hris
on | February 17, 2013, 4:17 GMT

@hyclass Thats because of the injuries. Everytime he looks good for a run of good scores to up his stats, he gets injured. If a player gets injured as much as he does, then he's not gonna have any better stats.
I dont care who he is.
Players can really push up their stats in a good run of couple of years. But thats possible only if they don't get injured.

Similar comparisons can be made with players like Watson. Kallis is a better test batsman but Watson's a better short form player and equally as good with the ball.
But people will see the stat difference and say Kallis is way better. I disagree. If Kallis suffered any where near as many injuries as Watson then he wouldnt have had any better stats than Watson.

POSTED BY
pat_one_back
on | February 17, 2013, 2:21 GMT

Such an insignificant result yet plenty of rattled Englishmen leaping to diminish the match and boast their Test Teams fortunes LOL. @Milhouse, you right in that better results against SL won't mean a thing after India, Aust however put up a far superior show against SA, considered great mostly for thrashing Eng so comprehensively at home, that's relevant. Note also, McGrath was renowned for owning his mark when he made those remarks, Eng only won 2005 on his injury, be wise to pay more respect. Anyhow no one who knows anything in Aust is cocky about our ashes chances, Eng would be wise to approach accordingly, Aust aren't that weak and not are Eng that strong.

POSTED BY
katandthat3
on | February 17, 2013, 1:10 GMT

Hope Marshy is ok, we need him in the Champions Trophy.

POSTED BY
kearon47
on | February 17, 2013, 0:47 GMT

A.Hales, S.Meaker and R.Toby-Jones are in the Squad?. They would make a huge difference, especially in the quicker bowling stocks.
My Team: A.Hales, J.Vince, J.Taylor, G.Ballance, B.Foakes, B.Stokes, C.Overton, M.Coles, R.Toby-Jones, S.Kerrigan, S.Meaker.

POSTED BY
Dashgar
on | February 17, 2013, 0:01 GMT

Send these no hopers home. Waste of Australia A's time. If England's aim was to injure Aus players then mission accomplished. Don't know what else they expected to gain with this horrendous squad of so called cricketers. (Front-foot-lunge, get another line. You've said the same thing after every game, we get it, dark day yada yada)

POSTED BY
CSpiers
on | February 16, 2013, 23:09 GMT

The quality of global test cricket is so much lower than it was 10 years ago, I'm not sure why English supporters feel the need to boast so much. Your team is not, and has not ever been an all dominating team like the West Indies or Australia, never has been, probably never will be. With the way cricket is skewed towards ridiculous schedules and T20 slogouts, no team will ever reach the heights of those teams. South Africa have been shown to be excellent only when compared to the comparative weakness of so many of the other test teams. Too many flat track bullies, too many guys going round without the mindframe required for tests. Mcgrath had the right to predict 5-0 whitewashes. I'm not sure on longterm form you could predict that for England at this stage.

POSTED BY
Chris_P
on | February 16, 2013, 23:02 GMT

@jmcilhinney. Although they are young & experienced, I believe the prime objective of the tour was not winning matches but to gain experience. What is the point of sending an experienced lot that you know can do the job, when the long term gain should always be the vision. Our side had a mixture of experienced & raw players, probably moreso than the Lions. These results are quickly forgotten, what stays is the experience tucked away that will hopefully show up in future (both both sides young players). @hyclass. Pretty good summary of S. Marsh, the stats, in this case, show the true story.

POSTED BY
Meety
on | February 16, 2013, 22:58 GMT

@trav29 on (February 16, 2013, 11:42 GMT) - true, although the reality is - it is a 7 wicket victory, which suggests that Oz played within themselves. Also the margin of victory could of been larger had Marsh not of been injured, it could of been a 9 wicket win.
@Martin Atkin - I would take Lyon, SO'K & Hauritz over Kerrigan. IF he was an Ozzy, he would struggle to make any of our Shield sides - that is the reality of spinners in Oz. Despite Oz going thru spinners rapidly over the last 4 or 5 years, MOST have Test stats BETTER than their FC stats - does that tell you anything?
@Milhouse79 on (February 16, 2013, 15:31 GMT) - come to rant again hey? Must be getting a little worried to bother with that desperate whine. LOL. Oz did better in SL, but the real limus test was Sth AFrica where Oz performed a long way better than England did. If that doesn't suggest this series will be close, you have the head in the sand!

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2013, 21:25 GMT

I think I must be seeing this series differently to most people, our top three average only 23 years old and are FC specialists, then we have Foakes and Overton who have been successful so far on tour and are only 20 and 18 years old respectfully! in fact Overtons twin is playing against South Africa's U19's for England. Then we have 23 year old finger spinner Kerrigan who is another FC specialist who has years ahead of him to mature and don't forget Hales should be available now and he is a quality one day batsmen who will help even the teams up.With Marsh out injured and today's game being close I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. This series is about gaining experience and the English Lions have been seriously under cooked game wise unlike Australia who are in the middle of their season but with today's game being close this should hopefully no longer an issue.

POSTED BY
Front-Foot-Lunge
on | February 16, 2013, 18:51 GMT

You know it's a gloomy day in Australian cricket when, in amongst the Whitewashings suffered last year (not to mention the suffering of five years of English cricketing dominance), the scraps of an England 4th XI on a tour that hardly anyone knows about, is the one reason to cheer.

Well played England Lions, learn your lessons well from this tour and put the changes in place by the 2024 Ashes.

POSTED BY
Trickstar
on | February 16, 2013, 16:06 GMT

I can see why the ECB picked the batsmen but the bowling is a complete puzzle and the balance of the side is wrong. They have got Foakes batting 4 and he's never played a List A game before this tour, with him batting 4 it pushes Stokes and Balance out of position. The biggest problem and who knows why they did it is the bowling, some of these guys don't hardly bowl for their County in one day cricket and some have never been one day bowlers. All you have to do is look at their stats to see they aren't in the top 15 bowlers in England. Wright is a journeyman who averages over 35, Overton is 18 years old and hardly played List A before this tour. Kerrigan doesn't even get picked for Lancashire and is very much a first class bowler, Ricki Clarke has never been a one day bowler and doesn't hardy do it for Warks anymore, Coles isn't a bad young bowler but that's about it. If this for experience fair enough but surely sending a more experienced better side would be a better experience.

POSTED BY
hyclass
on | February 16, 2013, 15:55 GMT

The idea that Marsh is anything more than mediocre state player is utterly refuted by his record. Now in his 12th season, his averages and strike rates make a mockery of any notion of class. He has 7 1st class and 7 List A hundreds in almost 12 seasons. He has scored those from 235 innings equating to one every 16 innings. That rate has stayed constant. A successful player should expect to score closer to one every 8 innings and a great player one every 6 innings. The idea that he has rich veins of form as asserted by this articles author is also refuted by a season on season study. Each season, his numbers have been bloated by his form game being the one against the formerly anaemic Sth Australian attack at the Adelaide Oval. When he was proposed as a Test aspirant, I suggested that he would be out injured within 4-5 games which was proven correct. It has his entire career.His ODI record shows that either his S/R or average need to be far better. His T20 record debunks the 20/20 std.

POSTED BY
Thefakebook
on | February 16, 2013, 14:21 GMT

S.Marsh would be a great fast bowler had he not decided to be a batsman because I don't remember Brett Lee getting injured as many times as he does.Well hope he recovers, he's still valuable no matter what format he plays @.

POSTED BY
Apocalypse_EX
on | February 16, 2013, 13:50 GMT

Its been a poor tour, though I admit the Lions should have won that 2nd game against the Victorian XI devoid of any experience. Still its a young bunch & this tour will do them good.I would have liked to see James Taylor score something and I still believe he should have been in England's ODI squad ahead of Jonny Bairstow.

POSTED BY
jmcilhinney
on | February 16, 2013, 13:00 GMT

This is a young and inexperienced Lions team but they have looked rather toothless on this tour. Not sure why Topley wasn't playing this game or the last. Has he been injured or was he dropped?

POSTED BY
Mr_Ronan
on | February 16, 2013, 12:49 GMT

Well trav29, when a team chasing 259 cruises to 0 for 172 and reaches the target with 7 wickets in hand that can comfortably be deemed a thrashing. Aus A cantered to victory. If they'd been chasing 300 they still would have won. And, again mate, I reiterate my point that what is the aim of sending such an inexperienced side to get flogged game after game? Surely it would've made more sense to send a lineup which could at least compete. If Aus sent a similarly green outfit to Eng they'd also get pumped and I'd be making the same argument.

POSTED BY
Vishnu27
on | February 16, 2013, 12:39 GMT

trav29: did you see the line up of the "Victorian" 11 the other day? That is what you call seriously inexperienced. They towelled up the same Lions team. Today was a cruise by Australia, who were never headed & did what they had to.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2013, 11:54 GMT

Lions keep picking the same bowlers, they keep getting smashed. What's the point of a squad. Kerrigan is a classic English finger spinner who doesn't turn it off the straight (although he'd waltz into the Australian squad at the moment) so why not pick the leggie?

POSTED BY
trav29
on | February 16, 2013, 11:42 GMT

@ mr-ronan it may have been a under-strength australia A side but it still had significantly more experience than the lions side. only 3 players in the aus A side have not played for the full team and had over 100 caps between them across all three formats.

and how exactly can a match won with only 5 balls remaining be a thrashing ?

POSTED BY
SamRoy
on | February 16, 2013, 11:40 GMT

Shaun Marsh is one of the finest timers of the cricket ball. Also he has the required power to muscle it over the rope if required. Well he has a weak defence but so does so many really amazing ODI batsmen. In my humble book, he is potentially a great ODI and T20 batsman. Simply put, Australian version of Yuvraj Singh. It is unfathomable why he doesnt get more chances in tha ODI team. Top 6 in ODI (and T20s) should be Watson, Warner, Hughes, Marsh, Clarke / Blizzard (in T20s), Bailey.

POSTED BY
Mr_Ronan
on | February 16, 2013, 11:08 GMT

FOURTH consecutive thrashing for the so-called "Lions". England have sugessted this is a 3rd-string Pom side...well what is the point of sending a lineup so weak it gets smashed by everyone? That was a very understrength Aus A side too.

No featured comments at the moment.

POSTED BY
Mr_Ronan
on | February 16, 2013, 11:08 GMT

FOURTH consecutive thrashing for the so-called "Lions". England have sugessted this is a 3rd-string Pom side...well what is the point of sending a lineup so weak it gets smashed by everyone? That was a very understrength Aus A side too.

POSTED BY
SamRoy
on | February 16, 2013, 11:40 GMT

Shaun Marsh is one of the finest timers of the cricket ball. Also he has the required power to muscle it over the rope if required. Well he has a weak defence but so does so many really amazing ODI batsmen. In my humble book, he is potentially a great ODI and T20 batsman. Simply put, Australian version of Yuvraj Singh. It is unfathomable why he doesnt get more chances in tha ODI team. Top 6 in ODI (and T20s) should be Watson, Warner, Hughes, Marsh, Clarke / Blizzard (in T20s), Bailey.

POSTED BY
trav29
on | February 16, 2013, 11:42 GMT

@ mr-ronan it may have been a under-strength australia A side but it still had significantly more experience than the lions side. only 3 players in the aus A side have not played for the full team and had over 100 caps between them across all three formats.

and how exactly can a match won with only 5 balls remaining be a thrashing ?

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2013, 11:54 GMT

Lions keep picking the same bowlers, they keep getting smashed. What's the point of a squad. Kerrigan is a classic English finger spinner who doesn't turn it off the straight (although he'd waltz into the Australian squad at the moment) so why not pick the leggie?

POSTED BY
Vishnu27
on | February 16, 2013, 12:39 GMT

trav29: did you see the line up of the "Victorian" 11 the other day? That is what you call seriously inexperienced. They towelled up the same Lions team. Today was a cruise by Australia, who were never headed & did what they had to.

POSTED BY
Mr_Ronan
on | February 16, 2013, 12:49 GMT

Well trav29, when a team chasing 259 cruises to 0 for 172 and reaches the target with 7 wickets in hand that can comfortably be deemed a thrashing. Aus A cantered to victory. If they'd been chasing 300 they still would have won. And, again mate, I reiterate my point that what is the aim of sending such an inexperienced side to get flogged game after game? Surely it would've made more sense to send a lineup which could at least compete. If Aus sent a similarly green outfit to Eng they'd also get pumped and I'd be making the same argument.

POSTED BY
jmcilhinney
on | February 16, 2013, 13:00 GMT

This is a young and inexperienced Lions team but they have looked rather toothless on this tour. Not sure why Topley wasn't playing this game or the last. Has he been injured or was he dropped?

POSTED BY
Apocalypse_EX
on | February 16, 2013, 13:50 GMT

Its been a poor tour, though I admit the Lions should have won that 2nd game against the Victorian XI devoid of any experience. Still its a young bunch & this tour will do them good.I would have liked to see James Taylor score something and I still believe he should have been in England's ODI squad ahead of Jonny Bairstow.

POSTED BY
Thefakebook
on | February 16, 2013, 14:21 GMT

S.Marsh would be a great fast bowler had he not decided to be a batsman because I don't remember Brett Lee getting injured as many times as he does.Well hope he recovers, he's still valuable no matter what format he plays @.

POSTED BY
hyclass
on | February 16, 2013, 15:55 GMT

The idea that Marsh is anything more than mediocre state player is utterly refuted by his record. Now in his 12th season, his averages and strike rates make a mockery of any notion of class. He has 7 1st class and 7 List A hundreds in almost 12 seasons. He has scored those from 235 innings equating to one every 16 innings. That rate has stayed constant. A successful player should expect to score closer to one every 8 innings and a great player one every 6 innings. The idea that he has rich veins of form as asserted by this articles author is also refuted by a season on season study. Each season, his numbers have been bloated by his form game being the one against the formerly anaemic Sth Australian attack at the Adelaide Oval. When he was proposed as a Test aspirant, I suggested that he would be out injured within 4-5 games which was proven correct. It has his entire career.His ODI record shows that either his S/R or average need to be far better. His T20 record debunks the 20/20 std.